Earth 2
After traveling to orbit became much cheaper in the 2070s due to scram jet launching systems, space colonies became much easier to establish. History Timeline Climate Change In the late 21st century, rising temperatures and flood waters caused problems around the globe. Bangladesh and Geo Engineering Bangladesh was one of the hardest hit countries, being severely flooded and having agricultural production threatened. Despite these problems, Bangladesh had a thriving tech center, funded in part by competing foreign support from India and China. A Bangladeshi tech billionare, used his wealth to build a coalition to fund geo engineering products. Controversy began in earnest when their lobbying spurred the Bangladeshi government to experiment with limited iron fertilization in the Bay of Bengal. The international community responded hostilely. After a serious flood led to tens of thousands of deaths, and more than a million displacements, the coalition began a project to inject light reflecting particles into the atmosphere. This led to widespread condemnation by states including the EU, US, and China. The situation worsened after the Bangladeshi government refused to intervene. After a couple years of conflict, including an aborted discussion in the EU about sending special forces to stop the Stratosphere, things calmed down after the project started working and global temperatures started stabilizing. Freiburg Massacre 3rd Global War - The Sovereignty War American Withdrawal The Silent Purge A political appointee to an American intelligence agency leaks info abut undercover officers who challenge his directorship, leading to them being killed by their host countries. The death toll was at least 70 and might have been 120. While the purge was eventually discovered, it severely crippled America's intelligence/power-projection capabilities. Formation of the United Powers After China and Russia solve a sphere of influence conflict diplomatically they form an alliance called the United Powers to protect their interests. Pakistan joins them, and Iran joins to counter Turkish influence. China and Russia invaded Central Asia, ending the Khazak war. Iran and Pakistan managed to occupy Afghanistan. War The war began in 2099 when China invades the City State of Hong Kong, the United Kingdom declares war. In response Russia sinks a British Aircraft Carrier in the North Sea, and Britain and America form a coalition to oppose them. The European Union surprises the US and UK by remaining neutral. End of the War The war ended in 2101. The Russian intelligence service managed to locate every US first wave nuclear weapon, and Chinese space-based military units destroyed them all in a single strike. Every nation in the United Powers launched some of their first wave nuclear weap0ns and the US was left with an ultimatum. Surrender unconditionally within 30 minutes, or have their 10 largest civilian centers destroyed. The American president, Alex Li, chose to surrender. Interbellum Period 2101-2155 Technology Health * New drugs, dietary/fitness technology, and other procuedures, slowed aging. * Delayed late aging, effectively extended healthy middle age from 55 to 65. Childbirth * New cheap procedures made it easy for people to have children much older. * Average age of parents jumped considerably, it became common for parents to have children at 40 and 50. * This, combined with longer life expectancy, led to a population boom, first in the rich world, and then the rest of the world. ** Parents no longer had to choose between children and a career. ** Governments in nations facing population decline marketed the technology to older citizens Space Elevators Seven Eyes Restructuring Before 3rd Global War * Original members: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand * Added members: Singapore, * Observer states: Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan Post 3rd Global War * Original members: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand ** United States government in exile * Added members: Singapore, _________ * Observer states: Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Belize, Haiti, Malaysia and Taiwan forced to leave after joining Sino Security Umbrella. Mars The population and economy of Mars increased dramatically during this period. The Newton-Diana Lunar Elevator Project The United Kingdom championed a project to build a space elevator from the moon to the Lunar-Terran Lagrange Point 1. They received loans from China & Russia and the EU. The loans were payed back over a several years after the completion of the project, and interest was paid in the form of reduced prices for transportation. The Hierarchy and the EU were competing at this point for economic hegemony, so both were willing to give an advantageous deal to the UK in order to outplay one another. The project was used to inspire unity and pride in the Commonwealth Dominion. The nations who directly supported the project (not just offering loans) were given administrative voting and profit sharing proportional to their investment. The investment proportion was as follows: UK - 52%, Canada - 20%, Australia - 12%, New Zealand - 7%, India - 2%, United States - 2%, Malaysia - 1%, Singapore - 2%, Hong Kong 2%. The UK bought a space station from Canada and added a series of nanotechnology manufacturing plants, renaming the satellite Diana. They then claimed Lagrange 1 by buying a minor space station from India and simply replacing it with Diana. They already had a minor scientific station on the equator. They constructed the space elevator by building a series of nanofiber cables at orbital manufacturing satellites together at the Diana station. This project had a series of unique challenges. It is said that the cost of manufacturing projects is increased according to four factors, high quality control, expensive materials, research and development, and government red tape. The Newton-Diana project that had all four. Each fiber had to be created as a single perfect one piece strand and everyone knew that the entire project could fail. if there were even a few molecules out of place, it could doom a thread, thus intense quality control was needed. At this point the world had a lot of experience with orbital manufacturing of graphene and nanotubes, but it was still expensive to produce and entirely new technologies had to be created in order to create these perfect threads. Furthermore, because other countries were investing in them, and this was a primarily government funded program, there was a lot of bureaucracy to deal with. One reason the UK was able to keep R&D costs down was because of their spies who stole research from China, Russia, and the EU, all of which had done research on the feasibility and techniques for space elevators, though they mostly focused on Earth. The United States primarily supported the project by giving the UK access to orbital nanotechnology factories at reduced rates and using its military to help with logistics of shipping parts to the Diana satellite. In return they were allowed to keep a small base to dock a few small ships at the Diana satellite and another small base for infantry at the base of the space elevator in the town of Newton. They were also given a limited number of highly reduced price shipments between the two bases each week. The 太阴-阶梯 Project The Chinese government championed a project to build a space elevator from the moon to the Lunar-Terran Lagrange point 2. While the project officially began seven years after the Newton-Diana project began, research was conducted long before it was initially announced, actually being seriously conducted upwards of five years before Netwon-Diana began. The Chinese were actually extremely important for the success of the Newton-Diana Elevator. Early Chinese research was stolen by British spies and used by the British to accelerate the project. Some historians estimate that the knowledge taken by the British accelerated the project by anywhere from 5 to 20 years. The reason Britain finished the elevator first despite China's research advantage was because they were able to rely on independent and competitive corporations where as China's government owned businesses were constrained more by bureaucracy and political posturing. Rise of Piracy After the fall of the United States, there was no great power strong enough to have hegemony over space and protect trade. Piracy became common, especially in the outlying regions of the Asteroid Belt. Every great power had a small navy to protect their assets with limited effectiveness. To compensate they hired privateers to protect themselves and harass their rivals. However, more and more independent pirates were showing up with deadlier and deadlier results. May Dutch had traveled to space after the Netherlands was flooded. Dutch mercenaries became known as incredibly fierce privateers, mostly working for the West European Council. Many American navy ships, refusing to surrender to the United Powers, became privateers hired by mega corporations and independent Belt republics . The Armstrong Lunar Colony was the biggest orbital engineering/manufacturing center. They were occupied by a small group of Pakistani lunar marines and Chinese mercenaries. The population was growing as American refugeers joined the colony, and the military knew that they had little chance of holding the colony long term. Eventually, the United Powers made a deal with Armstrong that it would be allowed to join the NAPC (thus allowing free immigration between Armstrong and the former United States) in exchange for turning over the remaining American-defector ships, giving China effective control of the Belt, and ofr building a construction station that eventually came to build a new massive fleet that eventually replaced the Chinese provisional fleet. Fall and Rebirth of America Occupied America 2101-2107 Government in Exile The American Government in exile remained in Britain. It included flag officers from the US military, the Secretary of State (who had been in the UK at the time of surrender) the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, the Deputy Secretary of Energy, members of the Intelligence community, and remnants of the State Department who had been abroad during surrender. Their only remaining fighting forces was the Second and North Command Fleets (which were de jure turned over to the UK government) and whatever bases or soldiers in transit were in the UK at the time of surrender. Their numbers dwindled more and more over time. De Facto Dissolution The United Powers established the new state of the the North American Presidential Confederation (NAPC), a decentralized state ruled by a president who, while elected, in practice could only serve at the pleasure of the United Powers observer. The NAPC included the 48 continental US states, but did not include Hawaii, Peurto Rico, or Alaska. The UP offered Texas to Mexico, but Mexico refused because they were 1) not dicks, 2) they knew the already ferocious Texan counter insurgency would not be worth it. The NAPC central government had a very small military. Furthermore, the remobilized US Special Forces were not particularly loyal to the NAPC government. Consequentially, the continental United States quickly spun of into various autonomous polities. Socio-Economic Trends Business regulations and taxes were very low in the NAPC which led to a mixture of exploitation and econmic boom. As time went on the autonomous states were able to censure the most grievous offenders. Many multi national corporations moved to cities in the United States. Overall the rise in economic activity helped boost the fractured nation out of its pre-war lost decade, and post-war malaise. The rise in wealth resulted in a cultural high point as well. Important works of literature, music, and film helped establish a new American identity. The economic and cultural success despite a weak central government was often compared to Song Dynasty China. Autonomous American States * Greater New York ** Greater New York controls parts of Pennsylvania (along Lake Erie), Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey. ** While New York City had a lot of political autonomy, their economic/agricultural needs ultimately tied them to GNY. * Providence Littoral League ** A commercial league of city states which fund the remnants of the US Navy North Command and 2nd fleet to protect Atlantic sea lanes. ** Members: Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, Norfolk, New York City (Unofficial Member) * Great Lakes Union ** Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, North Ohio *** Important Cities: Chicago (capitol), Detroit, Cleveland, * Ohio River Republic ** Kentucky, South Ohio, West Virginia, West Pennsylvania. *** Important Cities: Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh * Tennessee River State ** Nashville, Memphis * Florida * Gulf League ** Core: Houston to New Orleans, Periphery: Brownsville to Mobile * Northern California * West Texas * Southern California * Pacific North West * Missouri River Partnership ** Kansas City, St Louis, Omaha * Arizona Corridor * Front Range * Piedmont ** southern Virginia, North and South Carolina * Georgia ** Centered around Atlanta city state * Montana * City States ** Twin Cities ** Columbia (DC) Suprastate Unions * Mississippi Basin Economic Community ** Gulf League, Missouri River Partnership, Tennessee River State, Ohio River Republic, Twin Cities * Pacific Union ** Southern California, Northern California, Northwest Pacific Revolution/Unification Culture The 127 Pages The journal of Issac Tuiasosopo, a Samoan-American marine (an immigrant from Samoa, not from American-Samoa) killed in battle, is translated and published by his comrade (and romantic partner according to some historians) after the war. Issac Tuiasosopo was a polyglot, speaking Samoan, English, Japanese, Spanish, French, and passable Mandarin. His journal contained fascinating musings in a variety of languages. Poems written in Samoan, Japanese, and English. Essays about freedom, patriotism, war, theology in Spanish, French, English and Samoan. The topics questioning American identity with a tone of intellect and optimism became incredibly popular, especially when paired with Issac's tragic story. Hegemony In the aftermath of the war it seemed like the United Powers in total had reached Hegemony. However, after Russia failed to annex Uzbekistan until China helped out, it became rather clear that China was really running the show, though the other three nation-states still played significant roles in geopolitics. South East Asian War 2139-2144 The Uneasy Truce 2144-2165 In order to prevent another Arms Race, which might lead to another war, the treaty everyone agreed to prevented the Great Powers from researching weapons technology and some peaceful technologies that could be used for war. Naturally, this utterly failed, and instead led to an Arms Race led by corporations and mad scientists instead of governments. These great scientists and builders were called the Pansolar Industrialists. The most famous and powerful of these was Jin Wei (Known as Wei Jin in the west). Jin Wei was a Chinese citizen and the son of a mid-tier corporate executive. Originally from the city of Lianyungang. He grew up in Hong Kong from the age of 4 to 16. Wei receive a double major in Computer Engineering and Business. He was an excellent worker and used the proceeds from his jobs to fund the invention of a point defense AI which in turn funded the creation of his own business. Jin Wei eventually made a belt city called Chéngbo (城堡) his base of operations, followed by another city on Ganymede. With a team of brilliant inventors and engineers as well as his own business savvy, his company became famous for material science. The Time of Golden Ships As the Allies (United States, UK, Commonwealth Dominions) returned to power and began a cold war with the United Powers (China's sphere of influence including Russia, and Pakistan), an economic boom occurred. World GDP growth reached heights of 5% a year, which had not been seen since the 20th century. Historians and economists disagree about the causes ranging from high defense spending, to the resumption of free trade, to major innovations in space industry. Space colonization reached previously unimaginable heights. Luna became more and more economically sufficient. The terraforming of Mars accelerated to new heights. The Hellas Crater, Noctis Labyrinthis and Mariner Valley all became livable. Industry accelerated on Titan as factories were made more efficient by the greater temperature gap. Terraforming efforts began on Ganymede. Mining efforts in the Belt slowed but made other industry possible. Pansolar Industrialists * Willaim Wei / Wei Yang: Uncountable the most powerful private businessman in the interwar period. His company became famous for selling the best engines in the system. He constructed the Tàiyáng Hé (太阳河) or River of the Sun, a complex array of giant solettas, lenses, and mirrors which delivered power to countless stations which used lasers to accelerate solar sail ships across the system. * Wessex-Cahyadi Inc: A powerful Corporation based in an independent city on Luna. They first specialized in small merchant ships but soon expanded to military contracts and even terraforming. * Trans Pacific Cōngmíng General: Run by Alan Li (descendant of US president Alex Li). It started out as a powerful Trading Firm between the United States and Hong Kong, but after they constructed dual mass drivers in both Hong Kong and the United States they became extremely important in space trade. After 25 years they soon controlled the asteroid Interamnia and the Interamnian region which was a major economic center. * Euphrosyne-Zamok Conglomerates: Started as trading firm between spacecraft and industrial equipment makers on Mars, and miners in the Belt. * Sooryoday Inc: Used indentured labor to send colonists to the outer planets. * Alpha Technology: Established a colony on Mars which developed terraforming technology. * Numerica: Started the terraforming of Ganymede. * Emirates Space United: A private corporation from the United Arab Emirates which specializes in orbital manufacturing. Mars Jovian System 4th Global War Lead up to War Reemergence of Naval Power: * Before the war Naval Power was largely considered obsolete in Great Power conflict. All the Great Powers still maintained navies, but theorists concluded that space based weapons platforms would be able to target any large ships like supercarriers. Navies were needed to protect trade, but the assumption was that only small craft would survive an actual war. * The Caracas treaty did not prevent American Naval build up, since it was believed that United Powers space forces could easily deal with them. Anglo-American geography also made naval power easier to build due to geographically sheltered coasts and oceanic centrality. As a result, the US and UK invested heavily in their navies before the war. * The famous British engineer and Admiral Addison Fairfax-Pal realized that Ocean going ships have an important advantage over spacecraft, they can use the ocean as a shield. Fairfax-Pal made popular the idea of naval submersion as a purely defensive tactic, and led a 5 Eyes team to pioneer the first submersible aircraft-carrier. The ship (the HMS Unconquerable) could only fight and launch aircraft when above the sea, and moved at 1/10th its cruising speed when underwater, but it could submerge in a single minute. ** By the time of the war, Britain had 2 Submersible-Supercarriers, the United States had 4 (including 1 shared with Canada), and Autralia and New Zealand shared 1. (Listed in order of Carrier quality) ** In contrast, the United Powers' strategic doctrine eschewed naval power until the war began. China and Russia began building Submersible-Supercarriers fairly late. China had 2 by the war's beginning, but Russia's 1 was not finished until 2 years into the war. Terra-Orbital Turning Point * Prior to the war, military strategy in space emphasized large capital ships. * The United Powers Space Navy had defeated the Allied Fleet due to its superior and more numerous capital ships, in contrast the Allies had only 5 major capital ships at the start of the war (by the end they had many more) due to treaty restrictions from the 3rd Global War. Instead their fleet was composed primarily of small fighters which were unable to bombard or support terrestrial units nor support the capital ships that could. * After the first battle the Allied fleet was reduced to 2 major capital ships; in contrast the United Powers had lost only 1 out of ~28 capitol ships. The Allies' fleet was forced to retreat away from the lower orbitals. Over the next 3 months the Powers bombarded the Allies primarily with kinetic bombardment. This changed when the Anglo-American team unveiled their x-ray cascade lasers. They used nuclear weapons to power lasers which were highly effective against large and high mass capital ships. While the weapon was soon copied by the United Powers, it's prevalence changed the nature of space warfare to focus more on smaller fighter craft (which the Allies had a lot of because of the treaty). This gave the allies a significant advantage. Indonesian Campaign * Background ** The Allies had reached the point where they were even with the Chinese Suzerainty in orbital warfare and naval warfare, but they didn't have an army large enough to threaten Chinese holdings. Since the Indian army was embroiled in its conflict with Pakistan, the only neutral power with an army large enough to counter China was Indonesia. * Chinese Invasion ** When Indonesia started mobilizing troops, China landed its primary expeditionary force on Sumatra. The half million person Expeditionary force decimated the 0.9 million man Indonesian army in Sumatra. The expeditionary force then landed in Kalimantan where they destroyed the 0.5 million portion of the Indonesian army there. * Failed Landing on Java ** The Chinese expeditionary force attempted to invade Java, the heartland of Indonesia. Their amphibious invasion was supported by a small contingent of the Chinese navy and several Russian orbital ships which bombarded any military force that could counter them. ** The Allied Orbital forces managed to use X-Ray lasers to destroy the Russian orbital capital ships over Java, allowing the joint Indonesian-Australian navy to defeat the Chinese amphibious landing. * Battle of Java: ** Widely considered the bloodiest battle in human history. Scholars estimate the death toll was anywhere from 4 million to 16 million. ** The Chinese Suzerainty prepared a second amphibious landing in Java. They had more troops drawn from their main army, as well as the Pakistani Expeditionary Force, and small contingents from Congo and Korea. *** This expeditionary landing was successful, but by now the Indonesians had time to prepare, and they were supported by American, Australian, New Zealand, and Samoa. ** The Chinese military managed to establish a beachhead in Java, admittedly absorbing significant casualties. The Joint Indonesian Defense Force launched a fierce assault on the Beachhead, but were driven off by Orbital Bombardment. They achieved their first victory when they repelled the invaders in the first siege of New Jakarta, but their victory was short lived when the Chinese navy established a second beachhead on the other side of the island leading to a string of victories in the east. The string of victories finally ended when the Navy cut off the eastern troops from supplies, However, the invaders regained their momentum winning the second siege of New Jakarta. ** Guerrilla warfare became extremely common in overrun areas. ** Eventually both sides used multiple tactical nuclear weapons against each other's armies in order to try to end stalemates. *** The worst casualties to civilians came when the invaders used tactical nuclear weapons against guerrillas Chinese Suzerainty Resumes Space Supremacy * The Allies used their temporary control of space to make significant progress, especially in Indonesia and _______________ * The Chinese Suzerainty regained the advantage when their Martian fleet moved into Earth Orbit. This however left Mars open to rebellion. Russia and Turkey switch sides: * During the peace, Russia and Turkey had grown distant from China. Russia resented being treated like a subordinate. Turkey resented China's involvement in the Middle East. Russia and Turkey has also grown closer together. * When China deployed cobalt bombs Russia and Turkey used that as an excuse to withdraw from the war and declare neutrality. ** When Pakistan suppressed a rebellion in the Federal Republic of Iran, Russia and Turkey used it as an excuse to join the Allies * Russia tried to open up a northern front against China, but the PLA completely destroyed the Russian army. Eastern Russia was totally pillaged, but luckily for the western heartland China was distracted by the invasion allied forces before their infantry could cross the Volga. China did bombard Western Russia, but because they were invaded so soon after the fighting began, they were less devastated than most other powers. Timeline Year 1 () A truce is declared. By 2XXX every nation had officially agreed to peace. Destruction of the War on Earth Conventional Nuclear Weapons Both sides of the war used nuclear weapons. Major cities in China, Japan, India, the United States, and the EU were bombarded by nuclear weapons, though only a few of those cities were entirely depopulated. Some of the hardest hit cities include Bejing, Los Angeles, Philidelphia, San Diego, More than half of the total nuclear weapons built on Earth before the war (about 50,000) were destroyed before they could be launched, usually by kinetic bombardment, mobile infantry, or first-wave nuclear weapons. Of the remaining 22,000 nuclear weapons, 2,000 were never used, 13,000 were destroyed during launch (by orbital X-Ray Lasers, aircraft interception, or Brilliant Pebbles), 2,000 were used to launch spacecraft in the style of project Orion. Only the remaining 5,000 successfully reached there targets on Earth, however, that was still enough to cause massive damage. 4,000 of the successful 5,000 were used tactically against unlaunched nuclear weapons, large groupings of soldiers, or major military bases. The other half were used strategically against economic and political centers. Major factories and financial centers were heavily bombarded. Some countries began to build their factories underground so that they wouldn't have to constantly rebuild. More important cities usually had a stronger Brilliant Pebble Umbrella so they were able to escape bombardment entirely until infantry were able to arrive and take down defenses. This is what happened to Bejing during the Invasion of China. Cobalt Bombs The use of tactical Nuclear Weapons had slowly become excepted by the international community starting with a limited exchange during the sixth Indo-Pakistani war. Even strategic nuclear weapons had become somewhat accepted and at the very least expected. What was not expected or accepted was the use of Cobalt Bombs. Cobalt Bombs were designed to have increased fall out and make the area they targeted completely uninhabitable for ~100 years. In contrast areas targeted by conventional nuclear weapons (an ironic term if there ever was one) had a heightened risk of cancer and birth defects, but were largely inhabitable fairly quickly. The Russian Federations had a stockpile of 25 Cobalt Bombs but never used them during the war. The People's Republic of China had a stockpile of 100 cobalt bombs, but planned to use them only as a last resort. This policy was changed when the United States used a Biological Weapon called Homer 2. In response to that attack the Chinese infantry (who had occupied Western Mexico) launched 10 short range Cobalt Bombs against the United States. Major targets include Los Angeles, San Diego, and Austin. To the United States this was considered one of the worst crimes of the war. A joint Anglo-American Intelligence and Special Forces operation sneaked into China and destroyed most of the remaining Cobalt Bombs, but 40 more survived and were used primarily in the pacific and West Coast throughout the remainder of the war. Biological Weapons and Natural Disease Homer 2 was used by the United States in response to the Cobalt bombing of Haifa. The US claimed that the disease did not violate international laws or norms because it was non-lethal. Instead the disease was designed to temporarily blind those it infected. 100 million were infected in China, unfortunately another 40 million were infected in India unintentionally due to failed vaccine logistics. Emperor's Sickness was the most deadly pandemic in human history killing, 2% of earth's population, 260 million people. It was deadliest in South Asia, East Africa, Northern Europe, Central Africa, and pockets in East Asia and North America. The first wave devastated South Asia 18 months before the war ended. The disease got its name when it infected the Chinese Premier, who was visiting Karachi when the disease hit. Western propaganda called the Premier an emperor. The Premier's death was one of the key factors in destabilizing China's home front. The President of Iran choose to block the main roads and railways from the subcontinent to Iran, preventing the disease from spreading into Iran and beyond in the Middle East and Central Asia. She even used a nuclear weapon to irradiate an important pass and prevent migrants from crossing. For these actions she is still controversial. In the West she was referred to as the Persian Thatcher. To maintain the alliance with India she choose to step down from the presidency but she continued serving the war as Minister for Wartime Industry. While the disease quieted down after the initial wave, through Indian Ocean trade it managed to reach war ravaged Indonesia and the industrialized port of Mombasa. The Kenyan government managed to contain the disease before it spread to far, but through other ports it reached Somalia, Ethiopia, and Somaliland. Meanwhile the disease spread through Indonesia to the Philippines, Malaysia, and Northern Australia. After the war was over, the disease was carried by occupying Australian troops to china, where it ravaged the province of Guizhou before it was contained. A Philippine merchant marine brought it to the US where it spread from Port Angeles to the South West US and Northern Mexico. People still debate whether the Emperor sickness was a Chinese bioweapon or a natural disease aimed at eliminating the Indian military threat which got out of hand. The truth was lost when the archives of Bejing fell to Nuclear fire. Economic In the wake of the War, the entire solar system suffered a massive recession. In addition the destruction of the war led to so much technology being lost that the Great Powers were unable to make ships or fleets the way the head before the war. Present Interplanetary System - 13.3 billion Trade Culture Religion Zen Objectivism * A bastardized version of Zen Buddhism that links doubting reality to scientific philosophy about falsifiability and being unable to definitively prove things. Actual Buddhists (Zen and otherwise) hate it. Popular in parts of Europe and the US. Earth - 13.2 Billion Approximately 1.6 Billion people left earth in the wake of the Fourth Global War. Before the war interplanetary settlers (approximately 0.5 billion) from Earth were split roughly evenly between (in descending order) America, China, Europe, Russia, Japan, and Latin America. After the war, interplanetary settlers were predominately split between China, Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and South East Asia. Greater Chinese Region - 1800 Million At the height of Chinese Hegemony the state of China stretched beyond the chinese core into greater Heilongjiang, Sakhalin, and Taiwan. Furthermore the Chinese Suzerainty included not just the state of China, but also Mongolia, North Korea, New Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Tajikistan, and Kyrgstan (Sovereign China vs Suzerain China). Since the fourth global war and the fall of the Politburo, China's territories have reduced considerably. The core of China has been reduced the Chinese Federation. The rest of Greater China is incorporated in the Chinese Union. Chinese Federation - 900 million Republic of Guangdong (Often called Republic of Canton by outsiders) - 100 Million Hong Kong - ~10 Million * Hong Kong finally got it's independence. It is a major financial center, and serves as a gateway to china, since it has special status allowing it to be both a member of the Chinese Common Market and the Commonwealth Cooperative Council. Republic of Tibet - 5 million Approximately 350 million Chinese citizens settled space in the wake of the war. Anglosphere - 780 million Federation of United American States - 420 million * America has returned to the world stage as a great power. While many argue that it is the most powerful state left standing, American has to rely on its allies to maintain naval superiority, and it is not at the level of power it had 1991-2030. * Like all countries in the war, America suffered considerable damage. Nuclear weapons were used on many US bases and cities. Cobalt bombs were used on the West Coast. ** Los Angeles has been significantly depopulated. ** Thanks to damage during the war, including to the cities flood walls, New York City is no longer the biggest US city. *** Chicago grew considerably due to defense contracts, and refugees fleeing the less safe coastal cities. It is now the largest US cities. Houston grew as a tech-port center to fill the NYC niche. ** List of US Cities by Population: Chicago, New York, Houston, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, * Political Parties ** ** Coalitions *** Untilliberalist Coalition **** Core: CR + LNP + L → 40% **** Partners: +CU +2 → 50% *** Social Liberal Coalition **** Core: SPP + LNP → 36 % **** Partners: +CU + ES + GFF → 48% *** Conservative Coalition **** Core: NCP + CR → 30% **** Partners: +ANP + EP +L → 52% *** Leftist Coalition: **** Core: SPP + GFF + ES → 28% *** Rightwing Coalition: **** Core: NCP + ANP + EP → 25% United Kingdom - 80 million * London has become more important as it fills NYC's financial niche. Australia - 42 million New Zealand - 10 million Canada - 48 million Singapore - 6 million South Asia - 3100 million Approximately 250 million Indians and Pakistanis settled space in the wake of the war. Sub-Saharan Africa - 3100 million Approximately 300 million Sub-Saharan Africans settled space in the wake of the war. South East Asia - 1130 million Approximately 200 million south-east Asians settled space in the wake of the war. MENA -- 980 million Approximately 100 million people from MENA settled space in the wake of the war. South America - 725 million Western European Council - 490 million Nordic Council - 35 million Visegrad Union - 150 Million Mars - 15 Million Development Mars has developed significantly. The terraforming process has been ongoing for ~50 years, and while the atmosphere is still mostly not breathable, there is now enough of an atmosphere for plants to grow and people to survive (provided they have oxygen of course). Mars is still pretty cold, but some spots on the equator are fairly livable. The Terraforming Syndicate's goal is for the Martian Atmosphere to have a pressure of about 80 millibar, higher than the 63 millibar Armstrong Limit. 50 millibar of the atmosphere will be from Mars itself: 6 from the natural atmosphere, 9 from the polar caps, 25 from carbon rich minerals, 10 from the clathrates in the ice caps, and 4 from the warming of the Martian regolith. The other 30 is planned to be from outside materials crashed into Mars's surface. Regions There are a few important Martian regions. The most important are Hellas Plantina, the Mariner Valley, Argyre, the North, the Olympus highlands, and the Tharsis highlands. The biggest settlement on Mars was the city state of Harmonia in Hellas Planitia. The atmosphere is pressurized enough to survive. It is breathable at the lowest point of the Crater in Harmonia City. More than 150 million people live throughout the crater. The average population density is 41 people per square kilometer. Aside from Harmonia City, there are many other settlements including the Tamil town of Kuvimāṭam, the Coptic settlment of ⲧⲉϩⲓⲏ. Harmonia City is a Martian metropolis surrounding the Concordian sea. It was named after Harmonia, the Greek goddess of peaceful harmony and concord as well as daughter of Mars. The city is one of the only truly independent settlements on Mars. It was constructed by an alliance of corporations, ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs, and non profits with the support and recognition of the United Nations. The City-State is home to 100,000 citizens in the main city, and many more in surrounding smaller out posts. The original colonists were primarily American and European, so the primary language of the city is English, though in the cities two biggest neighborhoods French (mostly Sub-Saharan) and Arabic are more common. Now the majority of the cities occupants originally come from Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and China. The city is the major trade hub of Hellas Planitia, and many settlements outside the crater are deeply connected to it. Dr Pae Min-Su spearheaded the project in the UN, calling for the city to be built as a symbol of peace for mankind. The second deepest part of Mars, Argyre Planitia, was settled by the Russian government and several Russian, Belarusian, and Khazak corporations. The largest city is Gagarinburg, the second largest city on mars. The city gave its name to the whole region, which is called the Gagarin Republic. Today scientists and engineers are working on filling the deepest point with a small lake. The Mariner Valley was settled primarily by Americans, many of which were wealthy patriots who moved there to avoid the tyranny of occupied America. The Mariner valley is home to the third and and fifth largest cities on Mars, Noctis and Shepards Glen (originally the Alan Shepard-John Glen memorial station). Noctis '''is a major tech and shipping center. '''Noctis '''connects to the Mariner equatorial space elevator. The foundation of the elevator project, graphene research labs and factories, were built by the US government before it fell. Because the economic foundation was already in place, China, Russia, and American corporations decided to build '''Mars's first commercial space elevator there despite the independence if the Mariner Valley. The space elevator reinforced Noctis's status as a technological and economic center. Shepard's Glen is the capitol of the Mariner Valley Commonwealth and it is also home to major biotech research centers. The Tharsis Highlands are home to Mars' Pavonis space elevator. The space elevator was built by a collaboration between the Chinese military and a syndicate of government and corporate interests organized by a Saudi multi-billionare, and is currently controlled by an independent city state with strong ties to the Arab League, as well as Russia and China. The Northern Glacial Lands '''were settled by Russian colonists who founded the city of Tatischev The moon of '''Phobos '''is home to the British colony of Sharpcastle. Sharpcastle is the location of the Sharpcastle Anglo-American space elevator, which competes with the Pavonis Space Elevator. Other noteworthy settlements * Welthafen - An Amish farming commune. Thanks to the demand for food they have grown wealthy. * Yót’ááh Aniidíii - A Navajo settlement Religion A new christian sect has begun to spread across mars. Its followers are called '''Arunanites, after the founder TR Aruna Kalam. Aruna was a Tamil christian who rose to prominence as a physicist, eventually becoming a tenured professor at Harmonia university at a very young age. After one of Aruna's daughters died, she became more involved with religion, using her sabbatical to study theology. Eventually she began publishing some of her writings which gained traction thanks in part to her already considerable influence. A circle of friends emerged who would gather and discuss science and theology while they shared a meal. Aruna's wife was an economist at Harmonia University; she founded an interfaith missionary organization which over time came to me more and more influenced by Aruna's writings. Aruna's message focused on the idea of Jesus as carpenter and God as mathematician/engineer. It appealed to Mar's large scientist population. The moment when Aruna went from glorified blogger to a real religious leader was a series of debating open letters between her and her atheist colleague Feng Guanyu. The Feng-Kalam dialogue became extremely popular. One of Aruna's followers founded the Order of Michael the Inventor, also called the Faradayin Monks. This group of cloistered engineers and scientists collaborate to produce technology that improves the world. There are many Faradayin Abbeys with many different areas of research, including medicine, terraforming, agriculture, space habitats, fusion and more. The Order is funded primarily by donations and a healthy endowment from its founding. Ironically significant portion of the Order's endowment actually came from Feng Guanyu, who remained unconvinced by Aruna, but respected the good work done by the Order. Later, when Aruna's wife died, she joined one of the Faradayin abbeys where she works to this day on terraforming technology. The Biomessianic Church of Jesus Christ is a group of evangelical Christians who believe all non-Christians are doomed to hell, and therefore strive to create biological immortality to save them. Initially a very niche group, they have started working with the Faradayin monks and now run the Abbey of 12 Billion Methuselahs together. Luna - 94 million The largest sector of the Luna economy is orbital industry. All kinds of products, from artificial organs, to precision electronics, quantum computers, meta materials, nanotechnology, fiber optics, some components of engines, and superconductors are manufactured in orbit. There are also countless communication satellites, deep space launch ports, scientific space stations, and solar power arrays in orbit around earth. Because it is still expensive to launch people and material from Earth, most of the people servicing those industries live on the moon. Parts and machinery that don't need to be made in orbit but are needed for the final orbital products are produced in factories on the Moon's surface. Engineers and overseers for orbital factories live on Luna but work for a couple weeks at a time in orbit. Another major economic sector is agriculture. Domes across the surface of the moon absorb sunlight equivalent to the Earth, but they have controlled atmospheres designed to increase growth rates, in addition the low gravity of the moon made it easier for plants to grow. This food is shipped to the Belt and the outer planets. The moon is broadly split into several regions. One regional dichotomy is Earthside vs Darkside. Earthside is the side facing Earth. Darkside is the side that faces away from the Earth. Admittedly it is actually as bright as Earthside, it is just lit at different times. One of the most important cities on Earthside is Newtonbridge, often just called Newton. Newtonbridge is a British settlement and is the location of the Newton-Diana Bridge. With a population of 2.3 million, it has the fourth largest metropolitan area of any city in the United Kingdom, though technically only the 900,000 at the city's center are the descendants of British Citizens. Most major cities on Earthside are connected to Newtonbridge via underground rail networks. Newtonbrige seems much like other British cities, with buildings in a mix of modern and old architecture designed to make it feel like home for Britions, even including red phone booths for a connection to Earth. The center of the city is a series of three domes stacked on top of each other. The top dome is called Dustgarden, a thick domed area with a large gardened park with a great view of the Bridge. Beneath Dustgarden, and accessible via a series of airlocked stairways and elevators, is the area called Crossroad. Lit by a thick plexiglass skylight, this business district is one of the best places to access other places in Newtonbridge. The last and largest of the neighborhoods is Castlemarket. This dome is lit by a system of optic fibers which connect to the surface. Castlemarket contains a ring of business buildings, some of which reach the top of the cavern like great columns. The district is connected by a series of nooks and crannies making it difficult for the uninitiated to navigate. One of two most famous landmarks is the Royal Lunar Bazaar, where goods and wares are traded by megacorps and private individuals alike. The other is Newtonbridge Castle. The main government building where the British Lunar Parliament meets, built with a mix of Gothic and Post-Mordern architecture. One city connected closely to Netwonbridge is the city of Lunapolis, the largest American city on the moon, and capitol of the US State, Armstrong. Lunapolis is home to 950,000 people and is thus the twelfth largest American city. It's biggest sector is orbital manufacturing. Armstrong is home to 10 million people. It is known for having an interesting touch of Midwestern culture. While historically Armstrong was built on orbital manufacturing, the agricultural sector is growing, since many manufacturers retire to Dome Farms instead of returning to Earth. Another important Earthside city is the Russian city The largest city on Earthside is Chandra, with 9 million, in the Indian Settlement of Lunar Pradesh (Channdr Pradesh). The largest city on the entire moon is the Chinese settlement of Yangliwei City, with 16 million. Yangliwei City is home to China's space elevator. The whole city state is now independant in the wake of 4th Global War. Asteroid Belt - GDP 7.5 trillion - 47 million Most of the Belt are miners. Ceres About 60 million people live and work the dwarf planet of Ceres. The dwarf planet was the site of the first settlements in the Belt. Settlers came primarily from the EU (Especially the Netherlands, and Germany) the Anglosphere, Japan, and China; however, since the 4th global war, more immigrants have come from South Asia. Its lingua franca is English, though Dutch, Japanese, and Bengali are sometimes more common, especially in the northern regions, and Cantonese is used in the third largest city, New Canton (新廣東) and the surrounding region. There are still lots of mines on Ceres, but now most Ceres miners live on Ceres but go out on mining tours to mine smaller asteroids. The largest city on Ceres and the entire asteroid belt, is the city of Voidgate. Home to 12 million people, it is one of the largest cities in all of the human settlements. Voidgate is one of the most industrialized places in the Asteroid Belt. It is one of the only places that does its own refining instead of letting refining occur on Luna or Mars. Most of Voidgate is completely underground. Neighborhoods are built around tunnels which extend and interlock from the great harbor. Caverns and boroughs intersect in an uncharted labyrinth. It is said that you can find anything on Voidgate if you know where to look. Vesta The Heart of the old Chinese Belter empire. Vesta emerged as the opposite pole from Ceres for asteroid mining. While Ceres is larger, Vesta has traditionally had a stronger grip on its neighbors, including a military presence. Vesta's 20 million inhabitants use Mandarin as their primary Lingua Franca. Settlers came primarily from China, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the EU. Since the fall of the Chinese Republic, Vesta is split between Imperial-Loyalists, Independents, and those loyal to the new democratic Chinese Federation. Pallas Dominated by the Anglo-American joint settlement of 'Juno ' Traditionally within Vesta's Sphere of Influence. Now a hotbed of Imperial-Loyalists. Jovian System - 6.5 Million Ganymede - 2.3 Million * Ganymede contains the largest city in the Jovian system, Rbye (ربيع), which started out shipping water to the Jovian system and the asteroid belt. It was one of the first water exporting colonies in the Jovian system. Since then, it became the headquarters for Emirates Space United, bringing many colonists and businesses. * Giant mirrors pioneered by Martian terraforming turned Ganymede into a farming colony for the Jovian system, and now Titan. They were constructed by Emirates Space United which expanded its operations to include Ganymede based farming. * Alpha moved one of its major corporate headquarters away from the EU to Ganymede. Ganymede offered protection from Earth's legal authorities for their cybernetic and genetic experiments, in addition to small orbital manufacturing capabilities and agriculture to feed employees. * Trans Pacific Cōngmíng General set up a base on Ganymede to ship food, water, and atmospheric components to their colonies on Interamnia, and to support their trading ships in the outer solar system. * As Ganymede became more economically important, businesses and local governments began a terraforming effort. Io - 1.0 Million * A small city was built by Iran which used the volcanic flows for geothermal power. That wealth of energy was used to power a mass driver on Io's surface which they used for trade. They launched minerals (especially silicon and magnesium) and chemicals which were used in fine machinery by industry in the outer solar system and the belt. Although its population is small, it is still very important to the outer system economy. * Numerica established a second city on Io where they shipped Sulfur to be combined with Florine to make Sulfur-Hexafluoride from Ganymede to be used as a greenhouse gas for the terraforming effort. Europa - 2.2 Million * Europa is home to five subterranean polities: (in order of population) Shēnhǎi (深海), Osimiri, Nayasamudr, Dòngxué (洞穴), and Bodega País. Each of these territories consists primarily of subterranean cavern cities, powered by #######. Cavern cities are connected to each other with a system of tunnels and the underwater oceans. Each cavern territory is connected to the surface by one (or two in the case of Shēnhǎi and Nayasamudr) gateway city which is on top of the tunnels leading down into Europa's depths. * The settlements on Europa started out only shipping ice to Mars, the Outer Solar System, and the Belt, but colonists in Shēnhǎi began constructing their own underwater ecosystems which made the cavernous towns and cities more desirable. Now many parts of Europa are tech hubs in addition to selling ice and minerals. * Jin Wei established his headquarters on Europa. Callisto - 1.0 Million * Several small cities were founded on Callisto which were primarily used as forward bases for the other Jovian colonization projects. Saturnian System - 16.1 Million Titan - 16.0 Million Titan may now be on its way to becoming one of the first non-terrestrial great powers. It's largest city is Kolossos. The Kolossos colony was originally established by Russia, but it was placed under the united control of the United Powers as the hub of their operations in the outer planets. It was the site of the construction of the United Powers 1st Outer Planet fleet. Titan initially got its start selling nitrogen and hydrocarbons to other settlements. It even sold Methane to Earth, which intensified significantly after the 3rd and 4th global wars. Titan has also become the most comfortable place to live in the outer planets, with Kolossos being referred to as the Dubai of deep space. Now many of the wealthy elite from the Jovian system either live on Titan or visit and retire there. Many corporations which have most of their operations in the Jovian system use Titan as their headquarters for the same reason. After Titan became independent following the fall of the United Powers, it used the half-constructed 2nd United Powers Outer Planet Fleet to secure its trade with the Jovian system, effectively becoming self-sustaining. Using its powerful fleet and the influence of Titan's elite, they formed a Hegemonic empire, forcing treaties that turned Io and Callisto into their protectorates, and making alliances with many city states on Europa. So far Ganymede has managed to remain neutral with them. Enceladus - 50 thousand Enceladus's ice geysers are the primary source of water for Titan. Rhea - 50 thousand Rhea is home to a few small scale stations and farms. It sends oxygen to Titan. Post-War Geopolitics Emergence of the Centrality Bloc During peace time Russia and Turkey had grown closer. Some analysts argued that the Moscow Ankara axis was offering a geopolitically bipolar alternative to China, even though they were officially allied. After the war, Russia and Turkey were among the least damaged allies (well, sort-of Allies). In the wake of the conflict Russia managed to consolidate many of China's Martian holdings, and Turkish mercenaries managed to capture some of their strongholds in the asteroid belt. Russia and Turkey also managed to project power over Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. They conflicted with the Anglosphere over influence in Iran, but they successfully managed to pull Pakistan to their side. Eventually they formed an alliance with France and the European Common Council. Together the bloc dominated the Asteroid Belt and a large portion of Eurasia. Their Hegemonic empire stretched from North Africa, to Scandinavia, to Central Asia. They eventually gathered more allies from further afield, including Brazil, Indonesia, the Yangliwei Lunar City-State, and Kolossos. Kolossos brought in its Hegemonic empire which gave the rest of the bloc unique trade access to the Jovian system. It is said that the four corners of the Centrality Block are Moscow, Ankara, Paris, and Kolossos. List of Territories Controlled by the Centrality Block * Core Polities ** Russia, Turkey, France, Titan, * Terrestrial Presence ** Close Allies *** Pakistan, Brazil, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Greater Syria, Egypt, ** Contested Allies *** Iran, Germany, Scandinavia ** Hegemonic Sphere of Influence *** Central Asian Economic Zone, Sudan, Spain, West African Common Market, Algeria, * Space Presence ** Colonial Possessions *** Russia: Tatischev Glacial Oblast, Gagarin Republic, ** Independent Polities *** Close Allies **** Yangliwei Lunar City-State *** Contested Allies *** Sphere of Influence